Television broadcasting technology has improved tremendously since its inception. Today, television signals are broadcasted on the airwaves, through cables, and via satellite. The number of stations and programs accessible today has increased to hundreds of stations. Consequently, the television broadcast systems have increased in complexity in order to present the information on the hundreds of stations to the viewer.
The current generation of complex broadcasting system technology provides the viewer with many options regarding the functions of the broadcasting system and the programs that are available for broadcast. These options include, but are not limited to, choices in presentation graphics, program directories that allow for channel surfing among program descriptions while watching a particular program on one channel, custom user-formatted menus, message receipt functions from a service provider, on-demand selection of pay-per-view broadcasts, selection of a broadcast for automatic recording, and programming a broadcast system to tune to a preselected station at a designated time. These broadcasting system options are typically accessed through graphical user interfaces.
While the broadcast system technology improvements provide viewers with more programming selections and better picture and sound quality, these improvements provide retailers and service providers, the supporters of the broadcast system, with an improved medium over which to advertise their products. Retailers and service providers typically derive a benefit from the improved medium because the improved quality of the signals and the programming draw a larger audience, thereby providing them with a larger potential customer base. In spite of the larger potential customer base, there remains a need for an advertising system that better enables retailers and service providers to target customers with more product information and incentive to purchase than is provided with typical commercial segments. Furthermore, as a large number of homes contain personal computers, many of which are used to electronically purchase products and services via direct modem or Internet connections, there is a need to provide potential customers with product information and incentive to purchase that exploits the convenience of electronic purchasing.
The success of the combination of targeted advertising and electronic purchasing is best demonstrated by the financial success of the typical home shopping networks. The typical home shopping network provides products for which they present detailed advertising information and allow for electronic purchasing. This is a form of on-demand advertising because when a viewer wants to shop, the viewer can tune in a home shopping network of their choice, and when the viewer tires of shopping, the viewer can tune to a different network or station. The on-demand nature of the home shopping networks is appreciated by the typical viewer.
One form of advertisement that is very successful is the provision of coupons issued by manufacturers, retailers, and service providers that allow the consumer to save money on particular products during particular times. Typically, coupons are published in magazines and newspapers, and the consumer acquires the coupons by purchasing the magazine or newspaper. In the alternative, consumers are issued a coupon card by a particular retailer, wherein presentation of the coupon card, or electronic coupon, automatically allows the consumer to take advantage of reduced prices on particular goods without having to present coupons corresponding to the particular goods. However, there is a need for providing coupons that are compatible with electronic purchasing methods and which are accompanied by more detailed product information.